Tengo grandes planes para el 2011: Setiembre

Well, hello Spring. It's nice to see you round these parts again.

Tengo grandes planes para el 2011: Agosto

August was filled with Fun Runs. Which leads me to ask: why are they called fun runs? Most of the time, I don't find them to be very fun. The fun bit involves finishing and then treating oneself to a killer post-run big breakfast.

As a result of getting up at stupid 'o' clock on August weekends and spending most of my free time in running gear, I took 0 photos on my camera machine. Thus, all photos for this August installment were taken on my iPhoney. What did we do before camera phones?

The 3rd of August dawned with this photo taken from my kitchen window....

and ended with this photo taken at the Bay Run which has become a weekly Wednesday ritual with my partner-in-crime....

Being told to "Put yo' hands in the air" for the millionth time at Big Boi. And because no matter what era, green tracksuits are hot.

Example of aforementioned post-run big breakfast.

Benefits of taking a Thai cooking class with The Man? See above.

Early one Friday morning as I strolled towards the gym, I came across the sad demise of Kermit. Bad things happen to good frogs.

Whoever thought a fun run beginning with a sand run was a good idea, was sadly misguided. A beautiful day for it though!

Tengo grandes planes para el 2011: Julio

How to escape the dreariness of winter? Escape to Phuket.

#7: Learn to roll sushi

Image via

I work at a school that could pass for a mini version of the United Nations. Lunchtime is a gastronomic phenomenon. A Vegemite sandwich just no longer cuts it. I get particular lunch-box envy when I nosily peek into the lunchboxes of my students who are of a Korean background. It ain't about Keeping Up With the Jones' anymore. It's about keeping up with the Kims/Parks/Lees.

These kids get beautifully packaged meals filled with delicate, handmade morsels. I must have expressed my lunchbox envy quite noisily on a number of occasions, because I now often get boxes of handmade sushi/rice rolls/ kim chi sent in for me by some of my Korean families.

I always figured this sushi-rolling business was quite complicated. But hey, if Mrs Kim can just whip out some beautifully executed sushi on a weeknight to be put in little Johnny's lunchbox- it can't be that hard. Right?

Before the seeds of my lunchbox envy had been planted, I had actually resolved to learn to roll sushi. #7 on The List.

Luckily for me, I have a friend who is all kindsa awesome who also happens to be a very capable sushi-roller. So one Saturday evening, we had a sushi party. Ch-ch-ch-ch-check it out, Korean mums of the world. I too can roll sushi.

Excuse the ginormous, monster hands. All the better to roll sushi with.

Put that in your lunchbox.

And we devoured our sushi as we watched the Oscar-winning Best Film of 1982, Gandhi (#16 on The List: Watch every film that has won the Oscar for Best Movie since my birth year.) I hear you ask, "What's that sound?"
It's the sound of my 30x30 list being smashed to smithereens.

Tengo grandes planes para el 2011: Junio

June was looooooooong.

If anyone could explain the phenomenon that causes this month to drag on for so damn long it would be A to the Ppreciated. Being a Southern Hemisphere-ite, June signals the start of Winter which could explain this phenomenon. Perhaps if I lived in the Northern Hemisphere, replete with longer daylight hours and rays of warm sunshine, June wouldn't seem so painful. Did I mention that as a teacher, June = report writing and Parent-Teacher Interviews? Are you feeling me now?

Luckily, I live in a mighty pretty city which helps ease some of the June-related pain.

How many photos can one take of this ridiculously good-looking bridge?
And evening blue skies are enough to make anyone's heart sing.....

The Vivid Festival was in town and we went to a gig at the Opera House. The show was late to start so we were shouted a drink by the Opera House. Free drinks? Holler!!

Saw the Mary Poppins musical. A definite June highlight. Nothing makes you reminiscent of your childhood like a little bit of supercalafragalisticexpialidocious...